Confessions of Zilpah
A poem.
by Leo Haber
A poem.
by Leo Haber
They are a fine, but peculiar breed of man,—
this odd, bold Hebrew family. Young Reuben, his son,
is almost old enough to fan the woman flames
and feed the woman fire; yet he aspires
to other things and spends his days in devotions.
An odd creed!
this odd, bold Hebrew family. Young Reuben, his son,
is almost old enough to fan the woman flames
and feed the woman fire; yet he aspires
to other things and spends his days in devotions.
An odd creed!
TAMAR KADARI: According to one midrashic tradition, Reuben did not lie only with Bilhah, as is recounted in Gen. 35:22, but also with Zilpah.
EVEN HOFFMAN: Leah, Bilhah, and Zilpah remained as Jacob’s active wives after Rachel’s death. Ramban posited that Reuben did not worry about his post-menopausal mother Leah giving birth. As for Zilpah, Reuben chose not to defile her in deference to her being his mother’s servant. By consorting with Bilhah, Reuben knew that his father would never again be intimate with her. Ramban adduced support for his theory from the conclusion of Genesis 35:22: “And the sons of Jacob were twelve.” The meaning, Ramban argued, was that Reuben acted for the purpose of capping Jacob’s total number of sons at twelve and was successful in that regard.
